Remote Laboratory Management: Respiratory Virus Diagnostics

Abstract

An uptick in recent pandemics (Ebola, Zika, MERS, influenza, etc.) underlines the need for a more 'nimble,' coordinated response that addresses a multitude of issues ranging from transportation, access, facilities, equipment, and communication to provider training. To address this need, we have developed an innovative, scalable, logistics-enhanced, mobile, laboratory facility for emergencies and epidemics in resource-constrained global settings. Utilizing a background in clinical operations as an academic medical center, we designed a rapidly-deployable, modular BSL-2 and BSL-3 facility with user-friendly software for tracking and management of drugs and supplies in remote regions during epidemics and outbreaks. Here, we present our intermodal, mobile, expandable shipping-container laboratory units. The design of the laboratory facilitates off-grid usage by minimizing power consumption and allowing alternate water sources. The unit's information communication technology (ICT) platform provides (i) user-friendly tablet-based documentation, (ii) enhanced tracking of patients and supplies, and (iii) integrated communication onsite with built-in telehealth capabilities. To ensure quality in remote environments, we have developed a checklist for a basic laboratory workflow and a protocol for respiratory viral diagnosis using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). As described, this innovative and comprehensive approach allows for the provision of laboratory capability in resource-limited global environments.

Pandemic Supply Chain Research: A Structured Literature Review and Bibliometric Network Analysis

“…Since the coronavirus was still mostly isolated in China during 2019, it is interesting to look at what research was included in this pre-pandemic spike. Petrova et al [30] (p.1) mentioned an uptick in recent pandemics (Ebola, Zika, MERS, influenza, etc.) and underlined the need for a more nimble, coordinated response that addresses a multitude of issues ranging from transportation, access, facilities, equipment, and communication to provider training Bloom and Cadarette [2] (p. 2) also stated "the global health system as currently constituted .…”

Design of a point-of-care facility for diagnosis of COVID-19 using an off-grid photovoltaic system

“…The POC design is made of 2 modules (module 1 and module 2) with increasing dimensions, which allows module 2 to be folded into module 1 during disassembly (retractable design). The connection of these modules will speed up the time to perform a COVID-19 test (Petrova et al 2019 ). In the module 1, there is an amplification area, while in the module 2, there is a pre-analytical area and a pre-amplification area, each of them has a specific function in the POC.…”

“…On the other hand, the amplification area has a sliding window of 1 × 1.10 m, which allows natural ventilation and lighting in this area (OMS 2005). However, the entrance of air with particles near the equipment should be avoided (Petrova et al 2019 ). For that reason, the pre-analytical area and the pre-amplification area do not consider windows, since within these areas there are the biosafety and the PCR cabinets.…”

“…PV modules are very productive in the Latin American region due to high solar irradiation (Petrova et al 2019 ). Nevertheless, the performance of these modules depends on climatic parameters such as ambient temperature, which is closely related to incident solar insolation (Ramanan et al 2019 ).…”

“…Energy consumption is one of the most important parameters for the design and installation of POC systems (Petrova et al 2019 ). Hence, the POC design considers an off-grid PV system to supply energy to the equipment in the laboratory area.…”